CHAPTER TOOLS

Keywords:

depression;

anxiety;

movement disorders;

Parkinson's disease;

Huntington's disease;

neuropsychiatry

Summary

Movement disorders have long been perceived solely as disorders of the motor system. The improvement of motor symptom therapy, the rise of modern neuroimaging techniques, and the development of new therapies such as deep brain stimulation have reinstated the view of movement disorders as complex neurobehavioral syndromes. Among the behavioral symptoms, depressive symptoms are the most prevalent, affecting 30–50% of all patients with movement disorder. Depression is also one of the most disabling factors in movement disorders, heavily impacting the quality of life of patients and caregivers. Despite its importance, depression in movement disorders is still often underestimated, underdiagnosed, and undertreated. This chapter discusses the prevalence, diagnostic assessment, clinical characteristics, pathophysiology, and therapy of depression in two exemplary movement disorders: Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.